‘PROBLEMS’ between local authorities have delayed the publication of a report into the notorious Burton bollards, it has been claimed.

Staffordshire County Council had hoped to bring out the results of an investigation into the bollards earlier this month, but as time pushes on, it has been revealed there are issues with finalising the document.

The nature of the difficulty has not been disclosed.

Councillor Ron Clarke, who is a member of both Staffordshire County Council and East Staffordshire Borough Council said: “There is a problem between the borough council and county council at the moment, which is still being work out, and that’s what the delay is.

“Unfortunately the outcome has been pushed back, to my dissatisfaction, but it needs to be right. At the end of the day, there are many people who have got different opinions on the issue, but the reality is that the situation that was continuing, with cars being spiked, cannot go on.”

Councillor Clarke, who has been a supporter of the bollard scheme from the start, said he was unable to comment further on the issue, but added that he hoped it would soon be resolved.

He told the Mail he believed a decision would have been made on the future of the controversial bollards by the end of next month.

“It is an issue, Do we put pedestrians before cars? We can’t go back to where we were when they were put in,” the councillor added.

Countless people have been snared by attempting to drive through the bollards when they are in use, causing often pricy damage to their vehicles. Last year, a number of people were taken to hospital after their cars were spiked.

The bollards, which aim to stop traffic heading down High Street and into the Market Place, are currently out of use, and have been for several weeks.

Staffordshire County Council has denied this is related to the review, saying instead that staff are waiting for a part to fix the rising posts.

The authority failed to provide a response about the delay in the report and the continuing lack of use when approached by the Mail.